Bands Light Up The Studio's Stage to Fight Cancer

The Studio of Long Valley and students of both West Morris Central Mendham High Schools came together to fight cancer through music on Friday, June 10.

The Studio hosted a Relay for Life Benefit Concert with students from the two schools as the performing acts. For $5, fellow students and community members alike could enjoy the event.

The event also featured glowsticks, bracelets, and Relay for Life sponsored merchandise for sale, with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society initiative aimed at creating an increased sense of public awareness in the hope of one day eliminating the disease. The fundraising goal for the benefit concert was to raise “as much as possible” toward the overall goal for this weekend’s walking event, according to concert coordinator Chris Petriano.

Trying to come up with a unique fundraising idea for the fight against cancer, Petriano corresponded with David White of The Studio to turn the concert into a reality.

“We just asked around to bands if they wanted to play, and then I e-mailed Mr. White and asked if there were any times available,” said Petriano. “He e-mailed me back, and we started working out what times were available.”

The lineup consisted of several performers, all of whom came out for a night of music, fundraising, and fun. Student bands participating in the concert included General Chaos, I-CAR, Eveningfall, Pompitous of Love, and Ghost of a Gentleman. The event also featured several solo and acoustic acts. One such act, consisting of Devin O’Connor and Andrew Bothelo, opened the concert after dedicating their performance to a friend who lost her battle with cancer.

Organization of the concert itself was a bit hectic at times, but it all seemed to come together well in the end. The event saw an impressive turnout consisting of many students of the regional high school district, especially considering the bulk of the concert’s advertisement took place late in the week.

“It kind of all came together the day before. We were trying to figure out who was actually playing,” said Petriano. “We’ve gotten a pretty good outreach considering we’ve really only heavily advertised the past two days. It’s pretty good; people pretty much know about it, and Mr. White put stuff up on The Studio’s webpage. He helped with that a lot, with advertising it, and we put posters up the past couple days."

The West Morris Regional High School District’s Relay for Life will take place at West Morris Mendham High School. The event will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 18 and last until 6 a.m. the following morning. The event will include several guest speakers, as well  as food and activities for all in attendance.